Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of His/Her Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior ministers, who are government department heads) are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party or parties, and ultimately to the electorate. The office of the prime minister is the highest political office in the modern United Kingdom, except for the office of King/Queen itself. The office was not "created" or "established", but rather has evolved into existence over a period of three centuries, with various unwritten rules, customs, and laws hardening into the current office. This article lists the known prime ministers found in the works of Harry Turtledove after the Point of Divergence. Many prime ministers who served before the POD of a given alternate history are mentioned in passing. Also stories set in OTL may reference past PMs, or even the sitting PM. ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies With Germany emerging victorious from the Second World War, the United Kingdom was annexed, and the British Union of Fascists became the country's only legal party. In 2010, the BUF launched a push for reform within its borders that saw the selection of a Prime Minister by popular vote by party members. Note: Mosley is never explicitly called a PM, although evidence available suggests he either served in that role or in a similar one. Southern Victory During the War of Secession, then-Prime Minister Lord Palmerston supported the seceding Confederate States, forging an alliance that would carry on into the next century and two wars. The United Kingdom was on the losing side of the Great War in 1917, which eventually begat a revanchist coalition of the Conservative Party led by Winston Churchill and the Silver Shirts led by Oswald Mosley in 1932. This coaltion led the country into war against Germany in 1941. While initially successful, the tide turned against the UK starting in 1943. Germany destroyed three major British cities with superbombs in 1944, prompting a non-confidence vote which toppled Churchill, and saw the rise of Horace Wilson. The Two Georges Several people are mentioned as serving as PMs in the past, although their terms and their party aren't always identified. * William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC Prime Minister during the 1760s. He helped ease the tensions between Britain and its North American colonies, insuring that the empire remained intact. He appears in the painting ''The Two Georges. * , Frederick North, Lord North, a successor of Pitt's. He is in the painting, The Two Georges. * Benjamin Disraeli, presumably a PM in the 19th Century as a province of the North American Union is named in his honor. * Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, the likely PM in 1995. She is not identified by name, but the fact that it is a woman combined with the preponderance of historical contemporary figures in the work suggest the PM is indeed Thatcher. The War That Came Early Neville Chamberlain led Britain through the 1938 war during its first phase against Germany and then after the "big switch" of mid-1940 which saw Britain align itself with Germany against the Soviet Union. Not long after, Chamberlain's failing health led him to step down and press for the appointment of his close adviser, Horace Wilson. Wilson's term in late 1940 and into 1941 saw increased scrutiny of the ministry's critics at home. Wilson's increasing authoritarianism finally prompted a military coup in the spring of 1941. The interim government detained Wilson, ended the war with the USSR, and restarted the war with Germany. It also promised elections throughout the remainder of 1941, but reset the date each time. The year ended without elections and the military still in power. Worldwar Only two Prime Ministers are identified in the series: * Winston Churchill, PM throughout the Worldwar quartet. * Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, identified as the PM in Aftershocks, but was presumably the PM throughout the Colonization series. Other PMs In addition to the above, Winston Churchill is the PM in "Joe Steele" and "News From the Front". Clement Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee is PM in The Man With the Iron Heart after defeating Churchill in 1945, as in OTL, although, thanks to the activities of the German Freedom Front, his term is dramtically different from OTL. Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton appears in "A Massachusetts Yankee in King Arthur's Court" in segments that take place in 1963. Category:Prime Ministers of Britain Category:Titles